IN THE HIGH COURT OF MADHYA PRADESH AT JABALPUR BEFORE HON’BLE SHRI JUSTICE VIVEK KUMAR SINGH &

HON’BLE SHRI JUSTICE HIMANSHU JOSHI ON THE 23^rd OF FEBRURARY, 2026 FIRST APPEAL NO.448 of 2025 JITESH KUMAR TOLANI Versus SMT. VARSHA TOLANI Appearance:

Shri Siddharth Sharma – Advocate through Video Conferencing with Shri Mayank Upadhyay – Advocate for the appellant.

Shri Sanjay Agrawal- Senior Advocate with Ms. Ankita Singh Parihar – Advocate for the respondent.

Reserved on : 09.02.2026 Pronounced on : 23.02.2026 J U D G M E N T Per : Justice Vivek Kumar Singh This first appeal under Section 19 of the Family Courts Act, 1984 has been filed by the appellant/husband being aggrieved by the judgment and decree dated 14.02.2025 passed by First Additional Principal Judge, Family Court, Bhopal (M.P.) in Regular Civil Suit No.HM-1557/2021, whereby the application under Section 13(1)(ia)(ib) of Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 (for brevity ‘HM Act, 1955’) filed by the appellant/husband seeking dissolution of marriage on the ground of ‘cruelty’ has been dismissed.

2. Factual matrix of the case, in short, are that the marriage between the appellant and the respondent was solemnized on 28.11.2011 as per Hindu rites and customs without any dowry. Out of the wedlock, they have two daughters aged about 11 years and 9 years respectively. As alleged by the appellant, the respondent is suffering from mental ailment due to which she always gets annoyed, frustrated and angry without any reason. It is also alleged that the parents of the respondent were fully aware of her mental illness before marriage. However, concealing the said fact, they got the respondent married with the appellant. After 15 days of the marriage, the respondent started creating disputes with the parents of the appellant. The acts of the respondent were regularly informed to her parents. Many times, the respondent tried to commit suicide and when the appellant resisted, she started showing aggression resorted to all kinds of abusive tantrums and used filthy language towards the appellant and his family. To reconcile the relationship between the appellant and the respondent, their families raised the dispute for mediation before Nagar Sindhi Kalyan Panchayat, where the respondent had clearly admitted the fact that she is suffering from mental ailment and she is under medical treatment for the same. Thereafter, on 05.01.2017, the respondent alongwith her younger daughter left her matrimonial house taking away all her belongings including Stridhan and thereby deserted the appellant. On 17.02.2017, the appellant sent a notice to the respondent for restitution of conjugal rights. Pursuant to that, the respondent returned back to her matrimonial home after few days. She again left her matrimonial home in the month of December, 2018 and again came back in the month of April, 2019. Finally, on 27.10.2021, the respondent left the matrimonial home and never came back. Since then, the elder daughter resides with the appellant/husband and the younger daughter with the respondent/wife. Being aggrieved by the repeated abandonment, the appellant preferred a suit under Section 13(1)(ia)(ib) of HM Act, 1955 seeking decree of divorce, which was dismissed by the learned Family Court on erroneous grounds and without proper appreciation of material evidence available on record.

3. Being aggrieved by the impugned judgment and decree passed by the learned Family Court, the appellant has preferred the instant first appeal on the grounds that Family Court has erred in rejecting the application under Section 13(1)(ia)(ib) of HM Act, 1955 seeking dissolution of marriage on the ground of cruelty and desertion.

4. Learned counsel for the appellant submits that the learned Family Court has committed a grave error in ignoring the consistent pleadings and evidence on record demonstrating a continuous pattern of cruel conduct on the part of the respondent. It is further submitted that the respondent repeatedly left her matrimo